BX 9195 
.H66 



AN 



APPEAL 



1(A 



THE YOUNG MEN 



THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 



THE SYNOD OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. 



BY GEORGE HOWE, 

Professor of Biblical Literature, Theological Seminary, Columbia, S. C. 



1836. 

M 



J5X 



30462 




TO THE READER. 



The writer of these pages has been induced to throw out 
the few hints now presented to the public, by witnessing, as 
he has with great pain, the indifference felt by most young 
men of our church, to the claims of the ministry. He has 
seen with grief, our pious youth choosing other professions 
and employments, and leaving the ministry out of view, as 
if it were unworthy their notice. Or, they may have been 
deterred by other insufficient reasons from entering it. 
He invites all young men who love the Saviour, and espe- 
cially the pious students of our colleges, to give this subject 
a thoughtful and devout attention. And will not the ministers 
of the gospel, and the elders of the churches, not only pray 
the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth more 
laborers ; but look up, encourage, and call forth pious, suit- 
able, and deserving young men, to be trained up for the 
ministiy of reconciliation. It is not the worthiest, in most 
instances, who soonest offer themselves for the sacred office : 
modest worth and humble piety seek retirement and ob- 
scurity. Those who possess these desirable traits of char- 
acter must be sought after. Their doubts must be removed, 



IV 



the hand of fraternal kindness must be extended to them, 
and their minds must be assisted to feel the obligation of 
devoting themselves to the work of promulgating the gospel. 
That these pages may be instrumental of accomplishing their 
desired object, is the prayer of 

Your sincere friend, 

George Howe. 

Theological Seminary, ) 
Columbia, July, 1836. £ 



APPEAL 

TO 

YOUNG MEN. 



I. 

Among the many evidences of a low state of religious 
feeling in this portion of our church, is the small number 
of young men of piety who are selecting the ministry as 
their field of labor. Many of our churches lie waste and 
unoccupied ; a large extent of country in which the doc- 
trine and discipline of Presbyterianism would find ready 
support, is unvisited by the feet of our ministers ; our 
theological seminary, reared thus far with much labor and 
sacrifice, is frequented by compaiatively a little band of 
students ; our missionary, education, tract, and Sunday 
school organizations languish, because we have not men 
coming forward for the ministry in numbers sufficient to 
meet the demand and to secure the best good of society. 
While the church elsewhere is instinct with life and 
action, and is rousing herself with surprising energy to 
the work of converting the world, a gloomy lethargy has 
crept over our Southern Zion, which makes the heart sad, 
1 * 



6 



and damps the zeal of those in whose bosom the desire of 
a better day arises. The fathers are passing away, and 
few, lamentably few are the young Elishas who shall take 
up the fallen mantle of the ascending prophets and fill 
the places they have occupied. 

The American Education Society has under its patron- 
age 1,040 beneficiaries preparing for the ministry, mostly 
from the Presbyterian and Congregational churches. The 
Assembly's Board of Education has 600 whom it is 
assisting to enter the sacred office. The whole number 
of candidates for the ministry in the Congregational and 
Presbyterian church receiving charitable aid, is 1,640. 
Perhaps as many more are pursuing their studies sustained 
by other means than public charities. The whole number 
therefore now preparing in these United States for these 
two churches, is 3,280. But the population of South 
Carolina and Georgia, at the last census, was 1,098,000, 
or more than one thirteenth of the population of the 
Union. To give us our due proportion of candidates, 
one thirteenth of 3,280, or 252 young men ought to be 
studying for the ministry within the bounds of this synod 
at the present moment. 

Again, there were in the theological seminaries of the 
Congregational and Presbyterian churches in the United 
States in 1834-5, 608 students. There ought then to 
have been in the theological seminary at Columbia the 
last year, one thirteenth of this number, or 47 students, 
in order to have the same proportion of young candidates 
for the ministry within the bounds of this synod as existed 
elsewhere through our country. 

Again, of the 3,280 students preparing for the ministry 
in the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in the 
United States, 630 are computed to be in theological 
seminaries; J ,695 in colleges or elsewhere in the second 



stage of study; and 943 in academies. In nine years, 
all these will have passed into the ministry. 



In the year 1836 



210 will enter the sacred office. 



1837 


210 


1838 


210 


1839 


423 


1840 


423 


1841 


423 


1842 


423 


1843 


471 


1844 


471 



If the synod of South Carolina and Georgia had her 
proportion of young men in training for the ministry, in 
1836 she would have 16 assuming the sacred office, and 
43 in her seminary. 



Even this is measuring ourselves by the efforts of our 
brethren and the devotion of young men to Christ as they 
are elsewhere exhibited, and not by the rule of our duty, 
nor by the pressure of our obligations to advance the 
cause of the Redeemer. 

Two considerations will be thought of which will 
operate to diminish the proportion of these calculations. 
Half our population only can furnish candidates for the 
ministry. Still, though this is the case, the number of our 
ministers should not be less when compared with the 
whole population, than in the free States. Our slaves 
must have the gospel, and as they are more blind 



In 1837 



16 licensed and 48 in the seminary. 



1838 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 



16 " 48 

32 « 96 

32 " 96 

32 ¥ 96 

32 " 97 

36 " 99 

36 " 99 



8 



and needy, they require more labor to teach them the 
religion of Christ; and where the labor is greater, more 
men are required to perform it. So that if one man 
in 500 ought to enter the ministry where all are free, two 
among every 500 freemen ought to enter it where half of 
the population are slaves. Our ability to have a nu- 
merous ministry may be diminished in this state of society, 
our feelings remaining as they are. But we ought to feel 
a deeper interest in this subject, make greater efforts, and 
place a greater proportion of our young men in a state of 
preparation for the sacred calling, than Christians at the 
north. 

Again : Though other denominations are numerous in 
other States, and ours in some others is small, yet in few 
of these States is the number of Presbyterians as small as 
within our bounds. While this is freely admitted, and 
while it should dimmish from the calculations we have 
made, it is still sufficiently plain that we fall far, far below 
the measure of our duty, and of our privileges. We 
should lift up our eyes on the lands stretching far to the 
south. The newer portions of Georgia ; the whole of 
Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas, are filling up 
with astonishing rapidity, and by our own sons and 
brethren. W r e reside in the midst of the broad stream of 
emigration setting thither. It sweeps away our neighbors 
and kindred on the right hand, and on the left. It bears 
from us ministers, elders, and people. On whom does it 
fall more than upon us, to supply these regions with 
preachers of the gospel. And how should our exertions 
be increased, that we may meet the cry sent back to us 
for the bread of life. 

But what are we doing to supply the wants of our own 
population, and to send the gospel beyond us ? 

On diligent inquiry, there are not found within the 
bounds of this synod more than 40 young men in all, in 



9 



any stage of preparation for the ministry. In our semi- 
nary there have been but sixteen this present year, and in 
the other seminaries of the United States, but six more 
who belong within the bounds of our synod. Of these 
twenty-two, eighteen only are natives of our soil. 

Massachusetts, with but little more than the population 
of South Carolina, has 300 preparing for the ministry in 
her Congregational and Presbyterian churches. And if 
Massachusetts should not be compared with us, we may 
find an example to stimulate us nearer home. 

North Carolina is said to have 100 in our church alone. 
South Carolina and Georgia, with a population nearly 
double, from their Presbyterian and Congregational 
churches, show but about 40 young men who have an- 
swered affirmatively to the call from heaven, " Whom 
shall I send, and who will go for us ? " Fifty churches 
this moment stand destitute of stated pastors, while others 
are but partially supplied. Our benevolent institutions 
languish for the want of men to manage their concerns. 
And what is worse, the destitutions are increasing, and 
the new recruits for the Master's service apparently di- 
minishing in number.* 

Where shall we seek for the causes of this alarming 
state of our church ? Shall we say that the Presbyterian 
church within our bounds is less pious, prayerful and de- 
voted than elsewhere? Shall we say that she is more 
strongly bent on the acquisition of wealth ? Shall we say 
that her sons are less self-denying ? that she sustains, 
values, and esteems the ministry less ? Or shall we find 
the reason in the alleged fact that the seminaries of learn- 
ing within her limits have not heretofore been governed 
sufficiently by religious principle, and that Christian 

* The Theological Seminary in Columbia, in 1834-5, had 21 
etudents. In 1833-4, it had 22. And both those years there was 
a larger number abroad than now. 



10 



young men, while members of those institutions, have not 
felt the claims of religion pressing upon them as elsewhere 
they do ? Or, is it that the wants of the church are not 
understood, and that the true dignity of the ministerial 
office is not appreciated ? Or is it that mistakes prevail 
among our pious youth as to the nature of a call to the 
ministry ? We do not assign any of these as the reason. 
But it is certain, that young men of piety educated in our 
colleges and academies, turn their backs on the ministry, 
and assume the law, or medicine, or the occupation of 
the planter, as their business for life, without the least 
compunction of conscience, and almost without raising a 
doubt in the community as to the propriety of their con- 
duct. It is well known that the spirit which actuates the 
Christian students in colleges and academies elsewhere, 
greatly differs. That almost every educated youth of true 
piety, unless laboring under some disqualification for the 
sacred office, of which he is advised by judicious friends, 
feels himself bound by his obligations to the Saviour, to 
spend his life in preaching the gospel. The vow to be 
entirely Christ's, he feels pressing upon him. The voice 
" Go preach my gospel," sounds in his ears. The cry, 
"Whom shall 1 send?" penetrates his heart, and he re- 
plies, "Here, Lord, am I; send me." 

Many have deplored the state of things on this subject, 
which exists amongst us. We have mourned and prayed 
over it with brooding sadness, in secret places. We have 
sought diligently for the causes of the fewness of the 
ministry in the wide and still enlarging harvest. We 
have prayed the Lord of the harvest to send forth into it 
an increase of laborers. And now we lift our voice and 
call upon the ministry, the eldership, the members, 
especially the young men of the church, to give this sub- 
ject a place in their thoughts, their prayers, and labors. 

Young men, we speak to you. From you is to come, if 



11 



it comes at all, the future ministry of the church. If our 
number is ever increased, the ranks are to be filled by 
you. You, therefore, under God, are our hope. And, 
if the church to which we belong and which we love, is 
to be overshadowed with sad eclipse, and the principles for 
which our fathers contended are to go down in this 
community ; if Presbyterianism which was conjoined at the 
reformation with civil liberty, and has ever been united 
with it, is to fade away, or to be less prominent than 
heretofore, on you will rest much of the reproach. It will 
be because you honor not the ministry, you have not 
devotion and self-denial sufficient to obey your Saviour 
and follow him through evil as well as through good 
report. It is because the world has taken hold of you 
with a grasp so giant-like, that you will not follow the path 
of your duty. Yes, young men of the Christian church, 
we ask you solemnly and earnestly why you are not 
serving the Master who redeemed you, in the sacred office 
of preaching the gospel ? Pious youth in our schools and 
colleges, why have you not chosen with your earliest 
studies the ministry as your profession ? why are you not 
straining every nerve to qualify yourselves for its duties ? 



II. 

That you may be able to answer these questions with 
your understandings, and with a clear conscience, allow 
us to present some of the considerations which ought to 
pass before your mind as you frame your answer. 

1. Have you considered what God has done to redeem 
you 1 Have you thought of the immense cost of your 
redemption ? Moses was raised up ; miracles were 
wrought ; the Jewish economy was established ; David 
and Isaiah sung and wrote; the prophets prophesied; 



12 



were persecuted and slain, that the world might be 
prepared for the Messiah's coming. And then he that 
was to come, came ; the brightness of his Father's glory, 
by whom all things were made, and whose is the throne 
forever. He came, was born under circumstances which 
cast reproach on his very birth. He came to bear your 
sins in his own body on the tree. He died in bitterness 
and sorrow, and in his death your salvation was purchased. 
Ye are not your own. Ye are bought with a price. Your 
Lord, your Master w 7 ho stooped to save you, now speaks 
to you through these pages. " My son, if thou wilt 
receive my words, and hide my commandments with 
thee, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and 
find the knowledge of God." He bids you think of the 
price of your redemption, and the obligation to be wholly 
devoted to the Lord which this redemption imposes. And 
he asks you by what right you claim your time, your 
bodies, your hearts, your minds, your tongues, your pens, 
and wealth as your own ; to be employed without regard 
to Ids glory. 

2. Consider the nature of the vow you assumed in 
becoming a member of the Christian church. The 
contest man holds with God is a contest against rightful 
authority. It is a contest between the Creator and the 
created, the Preserver and those sustained in being by 
him ; between the Redeemer and those he has purchased. 
And man finds neither peace nor safety till he cordially 
admits the claims of Heaven to entire dominion over him, 
and cheerfully resigns to God, the right he has hitherto 
striven to withhold, of using him for his glory. A 
profession of religion is a formal profession of entire 
devotedness to Christ. " Henceforth, " you say, " I am 
his servant, to listen attentively to the voice of his word. 
My person, property, and time, are his." Now the 
Christian religion was not designed simply to save you ; 



13 



but was intended to bless all nations. You rejoice that it 
has set you free from the thraldom of sin, diffused peace 
and knowledge around your domestic hearth, erected over 
your dwelling the protection of law, and shed its benign 
influence on your native land. God designed that these 
same benefits should be conferred on all nations. The 
Christian religion can flourish under any form of gov- 
ernment, and in any clime. It was fitted for all people, 
and belongs to all. And the Christian church is formed, 
not simply to save you and the few brethren in Christ who 
are embraced within it now, nor simply to maintain the 
worship of God and transmit it to the next generation ; 
but she was formed to spread out her arms like the sea, 
and embrace the continents, and cover them with the 
influence of truth. This is one great end of the visible 
church. And at the accomplishment of that end, should 
every generation of Christians aim, while they yet live. 
The church you have joined, is one division of the Re- 
deemer's host. Its ministers and elders are officers to 
lead it onward in aggressive warfare, and they with you, 
and you with them, are called upon to be valiant and 
enterprising soldiers. 

You have joined the church, you observe the Sabbath, 
attend at the sanctuary, close around the table of the 
Lord, pray in secret, honor and sustain your pastor, and 
follow in the footsteps of the flock. It is well, my brother. 
You are keeping alive the piety which otherwise would 
die for lack of sustenance. But must all your piety and 
devotion be bounded by these narrow lines? Are you not 
thus deserting your Saviour who is aiming at the world's 
conversion ? If your religion terminates on yourself, where 
are your love for Christ, and your bowels of mercies for 
dying sinners, whose lands touch on your lands, and whose 
houses are within hail of yours ? Where your sympathy 
for a dying world ? 

2 



14 



How often is it enjoined on Christians, that they should 
let their light shine, that they should glorify God, that for 
this they should eat, and drink, and do whatsoever they 
are called to do. The ichole aspect of a Christian' s duty, 
as laid doicn in the New Testament, contemplates him as 
laboring constantly to produce a religious impression on 
the minds of men. 

3. Consider the command of Christ — his last command. 
Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature. This command was addressed to the first 
generation of Christians, and they strove to obey it. It 
stands on that sacred page, where you have read it. 
Christ has not spoken to you as to Saul of Tarsus, 
gleaming upon your eyes in a light from heaven above 
the sun's meridian splendor. But there is that sacred 
command, heaven-sent, clear, pointed, speaking to you 
with the awful authority of God. x\nd we ask you now 
in the name of the ascended Saviour, Have you ever laid 
it to heart and said with Saul, " Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do? " Look at the place this command occupies in 
the history of our Master. Its juxtaposition is remarkable. 
It was after his atoning death ; at a solemn meeting of the 
disciples, and next before his visible ascension. Go ye 
out, says he, into all the world, and preach the gospel to 
every creature. I ascend to your Father and mine, and 
assume my seat on the throne of God, and wield the 
power of God that I may establish my kingdom. Lo I 
am with you alway to the end of the world. The 
command embraces not that generation of disciples only, 
but every generation, till the last heathen shall have heard 
the gospel. You cannot escape from its authority. If 
you think it addressed to the church in its collective 
capacity, and therefore not to you individually, you should 
recollect that the church is but the individuals who 
compose it, and that unless individuals obey the command, 



15 



obedience to it is impossible, and that you, with other 
individual members, are called to obey it. Do not suppose 
it addressed alone to ministers of the gospel. Could it be 
a possible thing that the church should be deprived of her 
ministers to a man, the command would still be binding 
on her. It would still be her duty to lengthen her cords 
till she gradually embraced the human family within her 
inclosure. And it is not by pressing the command upon 
ministers already in the field, that God provides laborers 
for carrying abroad the means of salvation. But he brings 
before the mind of young Christians such passages as this 
from his holy w T ord, and thus awakens within them the 
desire to become instrumental in the conversion of men. 
They give themselves to God as missionaries of the cross, 
and then leave it to his overruling providence to decide 
whether they shall labor on these shores or in a foreign 
land. Every true minister is a missionary of the cross, 
and is striving to obey that command of the Saviour ; and, 
in deciding where he shall labor, asks, or ought to ask, 
where he can most advance the glory and kingdom of the 
Redeemer ; and whether that place be at home or abroad, 
there he seeks his abode. How clear it is, then, that the 
price paid for your redemption, the vows vou have 
assumed, and the command of your Saviour, bind you to 
live to the glory of God, and to put forth an influence for 
the world's conversion. In every part of our lives, and in 
every step we take, we are to do all with the divine glory 
in view. 

How clear it is that every young man, when he chooses 
his business and walk in life, is bound to choose that 
pursuit which will enable him most to advance the cause of 
Christ. 

It is for you, young disciple of the Redeemer, to say 
whether you will be wholly the Lord's, and what course of 
life you will choose that you may glorify him. With you, 



16 



my brother, rests the fearful responsibility of disowning, 
or acknowledging, the authority of Him who redeemed 
you. and who on his throne in heaven is now looking upon 
the decision you will make. And, with you rests, thanks 
to the Redeemer, the delightful privilege of laboring in 
that glorious cause, by promoting which, the elders in 
past times, obtained a good report. 

IIL 

How, then, with this object in view, will you dispose of 
yourself for life? Can you doubt at all, that of all the 
callings in which men engage, that of the sacred ministry, 
if one is qualified for it, is more suited to advance the 
kingdom of Christ than any other. The ministry is the 
gift of God. 

" And he gave some pastors." All the gifts of God are 
the offspring of genuine kindness. And they are adapted 
to human wants, so that in the enjoyment of them, man 
receives advantage only. And of all God's gifts to man 
as a social being, the gift of the pastor to him who looks 
upon the face of society, and then examines deeply into 
its movements beneath that vail which hides its fountains 
of feeling and action from the casual observer, will seem 
one of the most precious of all the gifts which have flowed 
from the great atonement — abounding source of all our 
mercies ! — well deserving to be among the first ascension 
gifts of Christ; — one that must have come from the heart 
of that God — Man whom we reverently adore, while we 
affectionately love him. Well worthy is that Jesus to 
occupy the mediatorial throne : well worthy the name 
given him in prophecy, yyr K^S Wonder! Counsellor! 
His plan of government as mediator ; his officers, am- 
bassadors, and agents ; the means he uses to spread wide 



17 



his reign, and to lead many sons unto glory, speak forth 
his consummate wisdom. There he sits, our Head ! our 
Lord ! — partner of our nature, sharer of our sorrows, man 
that he may feel for man — God in his humiliation, that he 
might have power to atone — God in his exaltation, that he 
may have power to rule. Beneath his feet the universe 
lies spread out and subject to his eye, upheld, influenced, 
controlled, so that ultimate good shall be evolved from its 
darkest, and to man most perplexed and inexplicable 
action. And through the pastor is the Saviour putting 
forth the greater share of that influence he is exerting^ to 
extend the church and to save his people. 

See the pastor's place in the social system : Then 
examine his means of influence : Then the actual result 
of his labors. 

He comes among his people, we will suppose, an 
educated, enlightened, devoted man. They bestow on 
him their confidence. He goes in and out before them. 
He is their adviser and friend in seasons of difficulty, their 
comforter in affliction. He baptizes the child ; he marries 
the youthful couple ; he speaks in accents of consolation 
over the departed, and consigns the mortal dust to the 
house of all the living. The many situations of interest 
in which he is placed, cause him to find a way more 
readily to the warm affections of the many, and give him 
the opportunity, if he be a judicious man, of doing them 
good, in leading their souls to God, and in elevating and 
improving their characters. There is no man who has in 
his hands so many sources of influence, as the talented 
and devoted clergyman. " The pulpit is the preacher's 
throne." From it he sways an influence, the elements 
of which are his own talents, piety, and moral worth ; — 
with the powerful, ennobling, thrilling, saving truths 
of revelation, and that superadded Spirit by whom, 
sent forth as he is by God, the mind is convinced, the 
2* 



18 



affections are purified, and the desires changed. The 
congregation assembled to hear him, is in many respects 
the best selected to receive the impressions he would 
desire to give. They are the young and tender youth ; 
they are the wives, and mothers, and daughters — that sex 
which is most susceptible of religious emotion, and most 
retired from the hardening influence of a worldly spirit. — 
They are men, not taken amid the occupations of the shop 
or plantation, nor amidst the din of the forum, but on a 
day, when by universal consent of Christian people, the 
cares of this world are suspended, with the ostensible 
design of serving the Deity in religious worship. With the 
day itself the most interesting events are associated : the 
rest of God from the works of creation ; the resurrection 
from the dead of the mighty Saviour ; his glorious 
ascension, and irresistible government now that he is 
king ; and the opening glories of immortality. The 
thousand associations which cluster around the sanctuary, 
the sacred place where our fathers have worshipped, 
and where their ashes lie, all heighten the effect of the 
preacher's ministrations. Thus, once in every week, and 
oftener even than this, under the most favorable circum- 
stances, he can bring forth the fruits of his private study 
and the rich results of early intellectual and moral 
discipline, for the benefit of thousands, Who, then, that is 
fired with the desire of being useful to others, and is 
endowed by God with the requisite talent and with glow- 
ing and stable piety ; when he is looking around him for 
a vocation in which he may serve God and exert a saving 
influence on man, can permit himself to overlook or 
lightly esteem the sacred office of the ministry ? 

But not in the pulpit only, nor alone by the bed of the 
sick and dying, or in any of those many efforts which the 
clergyman makes for the spiritual good of men, is his 
influence felt. The educated clergyman is the instructor 



19 



of society even in secular knowledge ; the devoted friend, 
advocate and founder, and best promoter of all our insti- 
tutions of learning and charity. To no profession is our 
country so much indebted for her institutions of learning, 
from the primary school to the university. For it has 
been true, that nearly all our colleges were projected, 
urged onward, and founded, and have been conducted, by 
the efforts of this class of men. Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, 
every New England college, and most of those out of 
New England owe their origin to the laborious and watch- 
ful care of these men, ever solicitous for the advancement 
of society in all those things which humanize and adorn it. 
It is they who are carrying the gospel with its rich 
blessings, to the heathen ; who are encouraging and 
sustaining with their intellectual efforts, those numerous 
periodicals which are bringing the sanctions of religion, 
and the heart-stirring incidents of religious life and 
missionary effort, home to the fireside of every man. 

How great, then, is the privilege of being a minister of 
Christ! The apostle calls it t?jv % r xgiv irjv dodeiuav, the 
gift conferred, and always speaks of it as a privilege and 
favor (x a Q LV ) which man could never anticipate, that he 
should be permitted to preach the everlasting gospel. 
How alluring to the distinguished civilian of our country 
is the office of ambassador to a foreign court ! But how 
much higher the honor, and how ample and solemn the 
office of being the ambassador of that King of kings, our 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

And if the office is so noble, how noble the studies 
which are pursued by all those who prepare themselves 
duly for its assumption. The field of knowledge opened 
before the lawyer and statesman, is wide in extent : the 
pursuits and studies of the physician, whose office it is to 
relieve physical suffering, are well worthy the efforts of 
the human understanding : but far above them all are the 



20 



studies and pursuits of the clergyman. The subjects he 
has to investigate are more noble and commanding ; the 
ends at which he is obliged to aim, more godlike ; and the 
associations in winch God places him in society, more 
interesting and affecting. The physician, and lawyer, 
and statesman, and king, are concerned with man's 
condition and well-being in this his earthly abode alone. 
The one is occupied with the diseases of this mortal body, 
and their cure; the other, with the relation in which man 
stands to his fellow man during the few years of his 
present life. The clergyman is bound by his sacred 
profession to regard man as born for immortality, as 
having relation not to earthly society only, but to the 
greater society of the universe, which includes within it 
the great God himself, man's sovereign and father, and 
Jesus our elder brother, atoning sacrifice, and interceding 
friend. To a perception of these relations which we hold 
to the vast company of immortals, is it the business of the 
clergyman to awaken the mind of man. To raise him 
from the low vale of earthly pursuits, which as a final 
object of effort are unsuited to his destiny, and therefore 
incapable of rendering him permanently happy, and to 
introduce him to the nobler society of the universe, whose 
existence and elevation he has not allowed himself to 
perceive, is the aim of the minister of truth. He in- 
deed hath not the power of himself to do it, but is the 
instrument only of the Holy Spirit. Yet his agency is the 
means God has appointed to use, and. in the noble and 
soul-exciting truths of religion, superior far to all the 
vaunted doctrines of man's philosophy, God has furnished 
him with those motives by which the soul is to be aroused 
to the consideration of its duties, and destinies, and its 
true wisdom. Religion ! And what is religion ? It is 
that which binds* It is the restoring of those bonds 
* The word religion is derived from religo, to bind ; because, as 



21 



sundered in the apostasy by which man was united to 
his Creator. It is the retracting of the soul from the 
distant and wintry void in which it has been wandering, 
lost in rayless night, far from its centre of life and joy. 
It is the binding that soul within its appropriate orbit, by 
grateful yet constraining influence, and teaching it to 
revolve as God intended it should move, around the Sun 
of Righteousness ; and beneath his glad and living power. 
And is this a vocation that man should think beneath 
him ? Nay ! let him plant his foot on the loftiest height 
and stretch himself to the most gigantic dimensions to 
which the mind and heart can reach, and it will still be 
an act of condescension in God to employ him as his 
ambassador, as the recipient and conduit of the living 
waters of salvation. 

And yet it is a fact most astonishing, that the young 
men of the church, in this southern country, do so under- 
value the Christian ministry as a field of labor. How 
they can believe that " man's chief end is to glorify 
God," and can neglect the most direct means of glori- 
fying him ; how they can make this world their only care, 
and allow the mad pursuit of wg.alth to draw them away 
from Christian duty ; how, when they have obtained a 
collegiate education, and are about choosing their profes- 
sion for life, they can look down on the ministry as 
beneath them, and seek the law or medicine in preference 
to preaching the gospel, is an enigma, the solution of 
which, in consistence with an admission that they are 
doing their duty as Christians, would be difficult indeed. 

Instances, it is said, have occurred of young men who 
have obtained an education, in part, for the sacred office, 
who have even been sustained through their college course 

Lactantius says, vinculo pietatis obstricti generanti nos Deo et reli- 
gati sumus. Lact. Inst. div. L. 8. So Augustine De vera rel. c. 

4!, 



22 



by the charity of the church, and who yet, when they 
have looked upon the ministry as they were about enter- 
ing upon the active duties of life, have seen in it no form 
or comeliness that they should desire it. 

The noble office of the ambassador for God, the sacred 
duties devolved upon him, the sublime employment of 
building up the church and promoting her purity, and of 
gathering in the wandering to the sure covenant of David, 
have had for them no attractions. It has been deemed 
no privilege to put forth an agency, beneath the divine 
omnipotence, and in a line with its operations, for the 
recovery of men. Where were the hearts, where the 
understandings and the piety of those young men ? 
Where their love to the Saviour ? Where that assumption 
of the cross required in the gospel? 

Ambrose is said to have fled and concealed himself 
when the guardians of the church would ordain him to 
the holy ministry.* And Chrysostom f professes, that 
when he was chosen to a bishopric, his soul and body were 
almost parted asunder, so great was the grief and fear 
that seized upon his spirits. But this was not because he 
despised the office, but because in his heart he felt him- 
self unequal to it. The most eloquent of all the Greeks 
who embraced Christ, he yet felt that the responsibility 
which was sought to be imposed upon him was far beyond 
his power to sustain ; and though a man of literature by 
profession, he knew that his utmost efforts would fail of 
filling up that vast idea of a faithful minister which occu- 
pied his mind. 

* Milner, Church History, Cent. IV. Chap. xii. 

t John, called Chrysostom xQvoogouog, golden-mouthed, because 
of his eloquence. His master Libanius, a rhetorician of Antioch, 
being asked who would be capable of succeeding him in his school 
replied, " John, if the Christians had not stolen him from us." 
Milner. Cave. 



23 



To what an astonishing height hath that young man 
raised himself who is on a summit so lofty that he can 
look down on the Christian ministry and regard it as 
beneath him. Verily, he hath realized the imagined 
elevation of the king of Babylon, he hath ascended above 
the clouds, and higher than the stars of God hath he fixed 
his throne. When these heavens and earth hasten away 
before the eye of the Judge and no place is found for 
them, how diminutive will his pursuits appear ! How 
insignificant will that plantation, which he has spent his 
life in cultivating, or those merely secular stations he has 
occupied, seem in comparison with his life, who has lived 
for the salvation of others, and who now receives the 
reward of those who turn many to righteousness.* 

If these pages should meet the eye of any Christian 
young man whose course for life is not determinately 

* The estimation in which many worthy men have held the 
ministry and its labors, their lives and language will attest. Dod- 
dridge says, " I esteem the ministry the most desirable employ- 
ment in the world, and find that delight in it and those advantages 
from it which I think hardly any other employment on earth could 
give me." Says Brown on his death-bed, " Were God to present 
me with the dukedom of Argyll on the one hand, and the being a 
minister of the gospel with the stipend which I have had on the 
other, so pleasant hath the ministry been to me, notwithstanding all 
my weakness and fears of little success, that I would instantly 
prefer the last." " I do not wish for any heaven upon earth," 
exclaims Henry Martyn, " besides that of preaching the precious 
gospel of Jesus Christ to immortal souls." George Herbert, the 
same night he was admitted to the office of the ministry, said to 
his friend, u I now look back on my aspiring thoughts, and think 
myself more happy, than if I had obtained what I so ambitiously 
thirsted for. My greatest ambition, henceforth, shall be, that 1 
bring glory to my Jesus, whom I have this day taken to be my 
master and governor. I will always contemn my birth, and any 
title or dignity that can be conferred upon me, when 1 shall com- 
pare them with the title of being a priest and serving at the altar of 
Jesus my master." 



24 



taken ; who is not so fixed that it is now impossible for 
him to make an election as to what path he should pur- 
sue ; whose talents are such as will, if properly cultivated, 
make him successful as a preacher of the gospel, and 
who is earnestly desirous of doing something for the 
divine glory ; let me beg him to ask how he can accom- 
plish more for God his Saviour, than by preaching the 
everlasting gospel which has been bestowed on man for 
his eternal happiness, and on the world for its renova- 
tion. 

IV, 

You will perhaps object to this request that you have 
not been called to the ministry. To what then have you 
been called, my friend ? Have you been called to the 
law, to medicine, to the mechanic's shop, to the planta- 
tion, to a life of leisure? Your duty plainly is, to put 
yourself into that situation in which you can subserve, on 
the whole, the best interest of Christ 1 s kingdom. And when- 
ever you can reasonably decide on the station in life in 
which you can glorify God the most, that, you may be 
persuaded, is the station to which God hath called you. 
The Saviour is not now on earth to say to you in an 
audible voice as he did to the sons of Zebedee, " Follow 
me." The day of miraculous calls and supernatural 
visions has passed away. It is an abuse of the doctrine 
of divine influence, to suppose that an irresistible and 
sensible impression, capable of being distinctly separated 
in our consciousness from the influence of motives, is made 
on our minds by the Holy Spirit. This error has been 
the fruitful source of most of that fanaticism which has 
disturbed the world.* If God has led you by his provi- 



:: The writer does not mean to deny the doctrine of a special 



dence to reflect on your duty to your fellow men, if it has 
seemed to you that it would be your highest enjoyment to 
contribute to the divine glory, and to be made instru- 
mental of advancing the kingdom of Chiist; if you are 
willing to labor industriously and to suffer much for the 

agency of the Holy Spirit upon the mind of man, an agency imme- 
diate, direct, and separate from motives. Still it is hardly, if at all 
possibl for the subject of divine influence to separate in his con- 
sciousness that influence which comes immediately from heaven, 
from that which comes mediately, through the truths of nature and 
revelation. He can only judge the divine by the fruits produced 
within him and upon him. He cannot, at least at the present day, 
distinguish it by any inherent and sensible difference, from the 
effect produced through second causes. The acting from impres- 
sions, which are construed into divine suggestions by an over-active 
fancy and by strong and unreasoning wilfulness, has filled the 
world with deeds which have disgraced the church and dishonored 
our common nature. That man has thrown away his compass and 
cast off his rudder who yields himself up to impulses, and baptizes 
those impulses with the sacred name of suggestions from heaven. 
Witness the atrocities perpetrated by the Menonites of the century 
of the Reformation, and occasional instances of delusion which 
have prevailed in more recent times. This subject ought to be 
well understood, and cautiously pondered. Not every impression 
even of a religious mind, is from above ; not every impulse nor pre- 
sentiment is divine. So often do these vivid emotions result from 
our own reasoning, or from some cause existing in our mental or 
physical constitution or our outward circumstances, that they are to 
be regarded by us as any thing else, in most instances, than the 
voice of God. Cecil says, in relation to the death of his child, 
if our memory serves us, " My passions forged impressions that she 
would live ; but I plainly perceive that I am called to regard God 
and not impressions." Says the author of the Natural History of 
Enthusiasm, " It were a strange supposition, to imagine that this 
impartation of virtue and happiness " [that, viz. caused by divine 
influence] " may be perceptible to the subject of it, like the access 
of a foreign and extraordinary influence, or that, while the creative 
agency is altogether undistinguishable among the movements of 
animal and intellectual life, the spiritual agency which conveys 
virtue to the soul, is otherwise than inscrutable in its mode of 
operation. As the one kind of divine energy does not display its 
3 



26 



Redeemer ; if you have a desire for the ministry, and your 
most judicious friends judge you to have the character and 
talents requisite to render you useful in it, then you have 
reason to believe it is the will of God that you should re- 
nounce the business of the world, and join with the min- 
isters of Christ in preaching the gospel to every creature. 



presence by convulsive or capricious irregularities, but by the 
unnoticed vigor and promptitude of the functions of life, so the 
other energy cannot, without irreverence, be thought of as 
making itself felt by extra-natural impulses, or sensible shocks upon 
the intellectual system, but must rather be imagined as an equa- 
ble pulse of life throbbing from within, and diffusing softness, 
sensibility and force through the soul." The true doctrine of divine 
influence is far removed from Enthusiasm and all its evils. The 
Enthusiast [who derives his name from the Greek h&tog, con- 
tracted ivOwg; hence h-Gvoiatsiv and h-Qvoiaoitog] is one, as his 
name denotes, who supposes the Deity in some extraordinary way 
to be present within him. He looks for visible displays of super- 
natural power. " He asks," to use the forcible words of the writer 
just quoted, " some sensible evidence of the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit, and would fain so dissect his own consciousness as to bring 
the presence of the divine Agent under palpable examination. Or 
he seeks for some such extraordinary turbulence of emotion as may 
seem unquestionably to surpass the powers and course of nature. 
Fraught with these wishes, he continually gazes upon the variable 
surface of his own feelings, in unquiet expectation of a supernatural 
troubling of the waters. The silent rise of the well-spring of purity 
and peace, he neither heeds nor values." — Nat. Hist, of Enthusiasm, 
pp. 67, 71, Boston edition. 

Pictet thus distinguishes between the true operation of the Spirit 
and Enthusiasm. Operatic Sp. Sancti quamvis ineffabilis, difiert 
multum ab Enthusiasmo. 1. In Enthusiasmo, objecta quae menti 
imprimuntur, non extrinsecus adveniunt, sed intus a spiritu per 
arcanas inspirationes suggerentur. At hie objectum supponitur 
semper extrinsceus ad venire, et ex verbo peti. 2. E?ithusiasmus fit 
per subitos motus qui ipsam rationem antevertunt, et sarpe exclu- 
dunt ; at spiritus operatio secum trahit gratum voluntatis consen- 
sus. 3. EntliusiasmiLS mentem afficit, immutata saepe manente 
voluntate ; unde in impios etiam cadit, at operatio gratia neces- 
sario infert cordis mutationem. — Picteti Theol. Lib. IX. Chap. iii. 7. 



27 



Bat you will inquire, Is there no danger ? May I not 
enter the ministry without the requisite character ? Have 
there not been many instances of unworthy men who have 
sought this sacred calling ? With shame we must answer 
these questions in the affirmative. There are sources of 
mistake on this as on every question of religious duty. 
You may not have the requisite talents. You may not 
have the wisdom of the serpent blended with the harm- 
lessness of the dove ; and your piety may not be perma- 
nent and glowing enough to sustain the labors and trials 
of the Christian ministry. 

Allow me to direct you in your inquiries on this topic, 
for it is the sincere desire of my heart, that the pious 
young man, who reads this tract, may inquire before God, 
in prayer, for the path of his duty in relation to the sub- 
ject now presented to his meditations. It has appeared, 
then, to me, that the call and inauguration of Isaiah to the 
prophetical office, furnishes a striking exemplification of 
the process through which the mind now passes, of him 
whom God calls to the ministry of reconciliation. In the 
year in which king Uzziah died, the prophet's mind is 
powerfully affected by the Holy Spirit. It is thrown into 
a state of vision, and overwhelmed with a sight of Jehovah 
in his glory. The vail, covering the inner sanctuary, is 
torn away ; and there, enthroned above the mercy-seat, 
and surrounded by cherubim, the train of his robe filling 
the whole temple, is the awful presence of Jehovah. The 
cherubim, themselves fearful in splendor, chant his praises 
in alternate song, crying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord 
God of Hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. The 
posts of the door move at the voice of him that crieth, and 
the house is filled with smoke. Affected by this awful 
view of the divine Majesty, Isaiah turns the eye of self- 
inspection upon his heart, and exclaims, " W 7 o is me ! 
for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips ; 



28 



for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts." — 
In these expressions, we see the mind laboring under 
strong convictions of sin, and a deep consciousness of 
unworthiness. Fire is the symbol of purifying influence. 
A seraph seems to the prophet to fly, having a live 
coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from 
off the altar. This he lays upon his mouth and says, 
" Lo, this hath touched thy lips ; and thine iniquity is 
taken away and thy sin purged." All this, however it 
may have occurred to the prophet, seems but an emblem 
of the renewing and sanctifying influence of the Spirit of 
God, and of that assurance of pardon, which the sinner, 
under conviction, obtains, when he yields himself entirely 
to God. This state of mind every Christian can conceive, 
for every Christian has felt it. He knows the peace, pass- 
ing understanding, which follows renewing grace. He 
has experienced, also, at such a season, a resistless im- 
pulse to make himself useful in the conversion of others. 
And so the prophet, at this hour of pardon and peace, 
hears the voice of Jehovah saying, £< Whom shall I send, 
and who will go for us ?" With cheerful haste he replies. 
Here am I ; send me. — Here is a call to the prophetical 
office. But in what respect does it differ from a call to 
the ministry now, save in the single fact that the prophet 
was in a state of inspiration, and in this state had a vision 
of Deity. Yet, though inspired, his mind was not bereft 
of its powers ; nor did those powers, beneath the divine 
influence, cease their appropriate action, or have their free 
and natural flow impeded. The view of Deity produced, 
as it must ever do, a conviction of utter sinfulness and 
ruin. The regenerating act is put forth, and the con- 
victed sinner is renewed. The peace-speaking blood of 
Christ brings an assurance of pardon, and with the sense 
of pardon, with the relief from the burden of guilt, comes 
the irresistible desire of being employed in the divine 
service. 



29 



If, then, you wish to decide whether you have the char- 
acter suited to the ministry as to piety, and whether your 
motives for pursuing it are right, examine your heart, and 
ask if the desire to be employed in the cause of Christ is 
accompanied with such feelings as pervaded Isaiah's 
bosom. This is the state of mind which hears the voice 
of God crying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for 
us. This the state which echoes back the reply, " Here, 
Lord, am I ; send me." The desire to be a minister of 
the Lord of Hosts springing up in such a soil, is of 
heavenly growth. It will strike its roots downward, and 
bear fruit upwards, and lift its branches ever towards the 
dews of heaven. 

As to the other particulars on which you are liable to 
err, viz., whether you have the talents, which, if duly 
cultivated, will make you a workman who needeth not to 
be ashamed ; and whether you have that prudence and 
good sense which will aid you rightly to conduct the re- 
sponsible duties of the clergyman, while your own judg- 
ment and reflection are not to be set aside in coming to a 
decision, you are to rely on the opinion which others form 
of you, who are competent judges of what is required in 
the ministry, and are acquainted with your character. 
Consult on these points a few of your most judicious and 
impartial Christian friends ; — consult your pastor, and be 
guided vfri part by their judgments. Above all, ask 
counsel from God. Ask wisdom of him who giveth lib- 
erally and upbraideth not. Consult the dealings of God 
in his providence towards you, and follow the way the 
finger of God points out. Not in pride, but in humility 
are you to ask : — not in pride, but in humility are you to 
decide : — not with reluctance, but with cheerfulness are 
you to go.* 



* The earnest desire for the office of the ministry, is one essential 
3 * 



30 



Think, meanwhile, of the blessedness of those who turn 
many to righteousness. They shall shine as the firmament 
forever and ever. Such as have been so distinguished, 
have shed behind them a splendor which has marked their 
pathway in the history of the church, and will make it 
visible and luminous forever. How many have Brainerd, 
Tennent, Whitefield, Wesley, and Baxter, been instru- 
mental in saving, and how dear are these honored names 
to the Christian heart. He that converteth a sinner from 
the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and 

qualification for it. This is a true saying, " If a man desire the 
office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." The word oQeysrai, 
translated desire, expresses a desire of the strongest character. A 
desire quasi porrcctis manibus prthendere et arripere. See Passow, 
and Brettschneider. The desire for the ministry should be a con- 
straining desire ) a disinterested desire, free from all selfish and am- 
bitious motives ; a considerate desire, not hasty and fitful, but per- 
manent and deliberate. 

The reasons which should induce one to believe himself divinely 
called to the ministry, are thus well but briefly stated by Leland, 
author of " View of Deistical Writers," &c. &c. " God hath been 
graciously pleased to give me some talents ; which are capable of 
being improved to the edification of the church. He hath dis- 
posed and inclined my heart to a willingness to take upon me the 
sacred ministry, and that not from worldly, carnal ends and views, 
but from a sincere intention and desire of employing the talents he 
has given me, in promoting the salvation of souls, and serving the 
interests of truth, piety, and righteousness in the world. And I 
have been encouraged by the judgment and approbation of several 
learned and pious ministers, who, after a diligent course of trials 
carried on for a considerable time, judged me to be properly qualified 
for that sacred office, and animated me to undertake it. Upon 
seriously weighing all these things, I cannot but think I have a 
clear call to the work of the ministry ; and 1 verily believe, that, if 
I rejected it, I should sin against God, grieve many of his people, 
counteract the designs of Divine Providence towards me, and 
alienate the talents he has given me to other purposes than those 
for which they seem to have been intended." See Bridges on the 
Christian Ministry. Part II., chapter vi. 



31 



hide a multitude of sins. Whosoever doeth one of the 
least of these commands and teacheth men so, shall be 
called great in the kingdom of heaven. Think of the 
salvation of one soul. If you are instrumental of saving 
it, you will prevent all the evil that soul may do in time. 
And it may become gigantic in wickedness, infecting 
thousands with its ruinous errors. You will prevent all 
the dishonor it will cast on God, and all the pains and 
anguish it will suffer in eternity. And, as the instrument, 
you will fill it with those pleasures which piety brings with 
it on earth ; — you will enlist one more immortal mind in 
the beatific service of its Creator. That mind may 
become cultivated by knowledge, and may put forth its 
powers in defending, recommending, and advancing the 
religion of that Jesus to whom you owe your redemption. 
When your head lies low on its dusty pillow, it will be 
actively employed in teaching the religion dear to your 
heart — in advancing the reign of the glorious Saviour. 
And if it should be clouded with ignorance on earth, and 
move but in a lowly sphere, it will yet praise God in the 
sphere in which it moves as acceptably, if not so loudly ; 
and in heaven it will swell into gigantic proportions, and 
rejoice in felicity, overflowing more and more as eternity 
rolls its unceasing stream. 

To be employed in the work of saving souls, is to be 
associated with prophets and apostles, whose business it 
was to advance God's truth on earth ; — it is to be asso- 
ciated with the Lord Jesus Christ, who descended from 
his celestial throne on this embassy of love, and to secure 
it, underwent the contempt of men; gave* his back to the 
smiters, and his cheek to them that plucked off the hairs, 
and his body to the cross, and his soul f to unutterable 
agony. 

* I have power to lay down [my life] and I have power to take 
it again, 
t Eli ! Eli ! lama sabacthani. 



32 



V. 

And now, youthful servant of God, redeemed and 
brought into the fold of the Saviour, what have you 
resolved to do ? You pray daily, Thy kingdom come. It 
is well. But the husbandman who only prays for the 
early and latter rain, will be like him who regardeth the 
winds and observeth the clouds. To him no harvest 
comes, though the golden crop on the lands of his indus- 
trious neighbor rustles like Lebanon. * What will you do 
to bring in, with greater power and in wider extent, the 
Messiah's kingdom ? Can you not, should you not, and 
will you not, employ all your youthful vigor, and the 
maturity of your manhood, and the wisdom of your age, in 
hastening the subjugation of the world to the Saviour? 
In the Psalms of David, the Messiah is represented as a 
victorious king. He appoints a day for the mustering of 
his forces, and his beloved people, with joyful haste, rush 
to his banner, eager to be led on against the foe. But 
the most interesting sight of all, is the ardor with which 
the young men of the church hasten to join him. The 
figure which the prophet chooses with exquisite beauty to 
describe their number, freshness, and purity, is borrowed 
from the thick, clear, clustering dewdrops of early dawn. 
More numerous than the dewdrops from the womb of the 
morning, is the deio of thy youth. When we see the 
young men, the flower of the church, coming forth to the 
Saviour's banner in frequent bands, we may know that he 
is preparing for battle with the powers of darkness, and 
that signal triumphs will shortly grace his standard. We 
may know that the millennial day approaches. Such 
evidence of its propinquity exists, and this too in a high 
degree. But principally it is to be gathered up not in this 



* Ps. lxxii. 16. 



33 



section of our land, but in the northern and north-western 
States. From the number of pious youth in the several 
colleges and theological seminaries, and under the care 
of the several societies for the education of indigent 
young men for the ministry, it is plain that there this is 
the day of the Redeemer's forces : that he is now mus- 
tering a numerous, young, and well-appointed army, and 
is preparing for splendid victories. But within the limits 
of this synod, how sad the prospect ! How few the 
laborers in the field ! how depressed often their condition ! 
and how few are coming forth to their help against the 
mighty! Is the church advancing or receding? The 
number of her youth who consecrate themselves to Christ 
in the work of the ministry, is a fair test of her state and 
progress.* 

* We subjoin a translation of the 110th Psalm, according to the 
interpretation we have given. 

A Song of David. 

1. This is the language of Jehovah to my Lord — 
*' Sit thou at my light hand 

Until I make thy foes a footstool for thy feet." 

2. The sceptre of thy power, Jehovah, stretches forth from Zion ! 
Rule thou in the midst of thy foes ! 

3. Thy people volunteer in the day of thy forces, 
In sacred attire ! 

More numerous than dewdrops from the womb of morn 
Will be the dew of thy youth ! 

4. Jehovah hath sworn and will not repent it — 
" Thou art priest forever 

After the manner of Melchisedek." 

5. The Lord at thy right hand 

Smiteth kings in pieces in the day of his anger. 

6. He holdeth a tribunal among the nations! 
He filleth them with corpses ! 

He breaketh the head through an extensive country. 

7. From the brook in the way he drinks : 
So he lifteth up his head. 

This psalm represents the Messiah under the image of a king, a 
warlike general, a priest, and conqueror. As in many ether speci- 



34 



Who will go and preach the gospel 1 Who of all that 
read these pages, will hear the voice of God crying, — 
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? What reply, 
my young brother, are you willing to have recorded in 
heaven as coming from your heart ? Will you not sit 
down and think with yourself whether you cannot, 
whether you ought not, like James and John, the sons of 
Zebedee, to leave the occupations you are engaged in, 
and commence a course of preparation for the ministry ? 
Witness the numerous churches entirely destitute of the 

mens of sacred poetry, different characters are personated within 
the compass of a few lines. Jehovah is first introduced as consti- 
tuting, by a royal decree, the Messiah his vicegerent ; which was 
fulfilled when the man Christ Jesus sat down on that throne as 
Mediator, which, in his divine nature, was his appropriate seat. In 
the second verse, the sacred poet addresses the mediatorial Kincr, 
and speaks of that intervention of Divine Providence, by which his 
spiritual sway was extended from Mount Zion, the earthly palace 
of God, over all the nations. He calls upon him to exert his power 
in the subjugation of his enemies. In verse 3d, the Messianic King 
is introduced as mustering his forces for battle ; and on the day 
appointed for the ieview of his army, his people rush to his banner. 
They come not in corselet and mailed armor, but in holy array, in 
garments consecrated to religious service ; thus showing that the 
approaching contest is not to be waged with sword, and spear, and 
shield, but with the spiritual weapons of truth and righteousness. 
That the Hebrew word Vn in verse 3d, translated in the English 
version "power" may signify military forces, is plain, from Exodus 
xiv. 28, 2 Kings xviii. 17, Obad. 20, 1 Sam. xvii. 20, 1 Kings xx. 
1, xv. 20, Jer. xl. 7, 13, and many other passages where it is so 
translated in the English version. See also Buxtorf. Heb. Concord. 
in Verb. That it does so mean, is shown from the whole complexion 
of this psalm, in which the Messiah is represented as a conquering 
hero. Comp. Ps. lxxii. Thy people are fil^JJ promptitudines—they 
volunteer. So the verb !H3 in Jude v. 2, 9, and the corresponding 
Arabic, is used of voluntary enrolments in the army. The beauti- 
ful figure by which the number of youthful volunteers is illustrated 
by the frequent drops of morning dew, is partially exhibited in the 
margin of our English Bible. More than the icomb of the morning 



35 



preached gospel, within the bounds of this synod. See 
our ministers continually removed from us by death and 
emigration. The yearly increase is little more than 
sufficient to fill their places. At our present rate of 
progress, one hundred years will not suffice to remove our 
destitutions. Till they are mostly supplied, our church 
cannot be in a healthy and prosperous state. Even where 
ministers are found, the organization which our church 
contemplates has been but partially formed. The min- 
isters are stated supplies only, not regular pastors. Their 

thou shalt have the dew of thy youth. The words are best resolved 
in the manner of Rosenmueler ta n^P Drn Sbd ^ rrrr ^Sl^g 
The dew of thy youth will be to thee more than the dew from the womb 
of the morning. Compare Job xxxviii. 28, 29. Hath the rain a 
father? or who hath begotten the drops of the dew? fnS^ young 
men. The poet having described the mustering of the Messiah's 
army, and the host of youthful conscripts who offer themselves as 
soldiers, in the 4th verse speaks of his priesthood, since on this, 
all his spiritual conquests must be founded. He says it is after the 
order or manner of Melchisedek, that it might at once be under- 
stood that it was not successive, hereditary, and transient, like that 
of an Aaronic priest, but peculiar, permanent, and in its nature 
unlimited as to duration. In verse 5, and to the end of the psalm, 
the sacred poet addresses Jehovah, and describes the Messiah's 
conquests. As a Judge, he institutes a tribunal among the nations, 
and finding them guilty, brings upon them the power of his vic- 
torious arms. The territories of his enemies lie strewed with their 
corpses. He rushes through the earth, carrying defeat before him. 
And like the liar ly and eager warrior in pursuit, he stops not to 
regale himself with luxurious viands, but when thirsty, snatches 
refreshment from the brook in his path, and rises invigorated for 
further victories. This is one of a class of descriptions penned by 
the sacred muse of inspiration, in which the Messiah is represented 
as an illustrious and conquering hero, at the head of an invin- 
cible army. Psalm lxxii. contains an exquisite description of the 
same kind.— This, we may say, is the day of the Messiah's forces. 
His banner is unfurled on the mountains. Where are the youth of 
these Southern churches, who will place themselves beneath its 
ample folds ? 



36 



churches, in many instances, hear the gospel at intervals 
of two, three, or four weeks, instead of on every Sabbath. 
Until we have more clergymen, until our young men come 
forward and join our band, we shah be too few and feeble 
to cover the ground which God has opened before us. 
Our churches and benevolent efforts will be of diminutive 
stature and sickly constitution. 

And how shall w r e meet the claims of the heathen world 
upon the Christian church? God has of late opened its 
most impenetrable regions to the Missionary, and has 
given him the power, by learning a single language, of 
preaching Christ to 300,000,000 of immortal beings. 
Into these regions the church must pour her men, and for 
their conversion expend her treasures. Some of the 
Southern young men who enter the ministry, must and 
will leave our shores, and labor amongst these heathen. 
How can we spare them, when our wants are so many; 
how withhold, while they perish for lack of knowledge. 

On whichever side we turn our eyes, therefore, we see 
the necessity of more men — more ministers of the cross of 
Christ. The church is rich and increasing in goods. 
With her ability, her disposition to do good increases also. 
Let but a great and practicable scheme of usefulness be 
presented, and she furnishes with becoming liberality the 

ver and the gold. The church calls for men — men for 
the service — men who will enlist for the war. Jesus Christ 
is collecting his spiritual forces for an attack on the 
kingdom of darkness. He wants men, young, vigorous, 
and strong. Some of you who read these pages, cannot 
yourselves occupy the pulpit as preachers. Some belong 
to the sex which the inspired apostle allows not, and 
which the arrangements of Providence permit not, to teach 
in public. Some of you are too far advanced in life to 
acquire the knowledge which the professed teacher of 
others should possess. Some are so occupied with other 



37 



and important duties, that leisure and opportunity is not 
allowed you. But what you cannot do in your own 
persons you may do with the lips and talents of others. 
You can encourage worthy young men of piety and talents 
to prepare themselves for the ministry : You can furnish 
them the pecuniary means, if need require, to sustain 
them through their course of study. And perhaps you are 
a father or mother, and have a son whom you will, in your 
heart, consecrate to Christ for this service. He has 
received from God the renewal of the Holy Ghost, and 
been brought into the church. Why should you desire for 
him so ardently the wealth and honors of this world? 
Why not be more anxious to secure for him that glorious 
splendor which the prophet describes 1 1 They that turn 
many to righteousness shall shine as the stars in the 
firmament forever and ever.' Perhaps he may be instru- 
mental of revivals of religion in which hundreds will 
be converted. Or he will gather new churches. Per- 
haps he will not labor in another's line, nor build on 
another's foundation, but will go far hence to the Gentiles 
bearing precious seed. Perhaps genius hath enstamped 
her impress on him, and God hath sanctified that genius, 
and will use it for his glory. In the sweet melody of 
sacred song, or on the page glowing with piety and 
powerful in talent, he will, like Heber, Cowper, Edwards, 
and Baxter, perpetuate the pious emotions of his own soul 
and the clear perceptions of his mind, and re-produce 
them in others through future generations. That son 
whom God hath given you, will you not give back to the 
Saviour, to be taken by him and taught, and consecrated, 
and sent forth, that he may beseech men in Christ's stead 
to become reconciled to God ? 

Every particular church ought to have some of her sons 
in training for the ministry. Christian reader, you belong 
4 



38 



to a Christian church. Who among her sons is preparing 
to preach the gospel ? Let every church member, espe- 
cially every elder, and most especially every minister of 
Christ, think and pray over this subject. It is high time 
to awake out of our sleep, and high time for our Christian 
youth to come forward and dedicate their persons to 
Christ. It is time that we go to them and demand their 
services, in the name of the Saviour, and tell them that if 
they will not forsake houses and lands, and if need be, 
fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters, for Christ's 
sake, they cannot expect a blessing from his hand. 
Should we faithfully do this work our youth would respond 
to the call of the church. We should have a noble band 
of soldiers of the cross, coming up to the help of the 
Lord. Then shall the church no longer sit solitary, she 
that should be " full of people. " Nor shall we say any 
more, — " Our adversaries have trodden down Thy sanc- 
tuary or of our Jerusalem, — " There is none to guide 
her among the sons whom she hath brought forth ; neither 
is there any that taketh her by the hand, of all the sons 
that she hath brought up." 



STATISTICAL TABLES. 



The following tables have been compiled with no small labor, and 
are now published because it is believed they will be useful. The 
statistics of the church are interesting-, as showing us our weakness 
and our strength; as pointing out what we have done, what we 
have neglected to do, and what we may easily accomplish. 

Note. — These statistics are made out from the lists of churches and presby- 
teries printed with the Minutes of General Assembly. It is known that they 
are not in all respects accurate ; but they are sufficiently so to give a correct 
general idea of the progress of the Presbyterian church in South Carolina and 
Georgia. 

TABLE 1. 



Statistics of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina and 
Georgia, from 1803 to 1835. 

1803.* 





Ministers. 






Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


1st Presbytery of South Carolina, f 
2d Presbytery of South Carolina, \ 
Presbytery of Hopewell, 


11 

12 
4 


3 
2 

§ 


14 
14 
4 


34 
25 

§8 




27 


5 


32 


67 



* In 1803, all the presbyteiies in North Carolina, South Carolina, East Ten- 
nessee, and Georgia, and one presbytery in Virginia, formed "the Synod of the 
Carolinas." The presbyteries were the presbyteries of Orange, 1st presbytery of 
South Carolina, 2d presbytery of South Carolina, the presbyteries of Abingdon, of 
Union, of Grenville, and of Hopewell. The presbytery of Abingdon was set off 
to the synod of Virginia in 1803. 

f Afterwards the presbytery of Harmony. 

J Afterwards the presbytery of South Carolina. 

§ There was no report from the presbytery of Hopewell until 1825. In the 
minutes of General Assembly for 1803, the ministers are stated to be Robert 
Cunningham, William Montgomery, Thomas Newton, Edward Faxr. 



40 



1809.*' 





Ministers. 






Mi, i. 


Lie 


Total 


Chhs. 


1st Presbytery of South Carolina, 
2d Presbytery of South Carolina, 
Presbytery of Hopewell, 


16 

9 
4 




"leT 

9 
4 


31 

23 
8 




~29~ 




29 


62 



* In 1809, the Synod of the Carolinas contained 6 presbyteries. The presbytery 
of Grenville has disappeared from the minutes. 



1813.* 





Ministers. 






Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 

do. of South Carolina, 
do. of Hopewell, 


15 
10 

4 




~15~ 
10 
4 


28 
8 




~29~ 




~29~ 


63 



* In 1813, the Synod of the Carolinas was divided into the Synod of North Car- 
olina, and the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia. 



1814. 





Ministers. 






Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 

do. of South Carolina, 
do. of Hopewell, 


~15~ 

1 


~3~ 
2 

§ 


~~18~ 
12 
4 


HT 
26 
8 




29 


5 


34 


61 



41 



1819. 





Mi u lsters. 






Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Ch/is. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


19 


5 




28 


do. of South Carolina, 


15 


2 


17 


30 


do. of Hopewell, 


4 


§ 


4 


8 




~38~ 


7 


45 


~66~ 



1825.* 





Ministers. 








Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


9 


~3~ 


12 


~17~ 


f 527 


do. of South Carolina, 


16 


4 


20 


34 


1,863 


do. of Hopewell, 


12 


2 


14 


23 


195 


do. of Charleston Union 


13 


1 


14 


10 


t 411 


do. of Georgia, 


6 


1 


7 


6 


t 291 


do. of Bethel, |] 


8 


3 


11 


21 


1,486 




64 


"IT" 


78 


111 


4,773 



* In 1825, the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia contained 8 presbyteries: 
the presbyteries of Alabama and North Alabama being connected with it. 
f Taken from the report of 1823. 
J Taken from the report of 1824. 
|| Connected with the Synod of North Carolina. 



1826. 





Ministet 










Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


10 




10 


00 


797 


do. of South Carolina, 


15 


5 


20 


35 


1,893 


do. of Hopewell, 


15 


4 


19 


29 


696 


do. of Charleston Un., 


12 


1 


13 


4 


397 


do. of Georgia, 


6 




6 


6 


291 


do. of Bethel, 


8 




8 


23 


1,587 




66 


10 


76 


115 


5,661 



4* 



42 



1827. 





Ministers. 








Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


u 




11 


12 


716 


do. of South Carolina,* 


15 


5 


20 


q -r 


A,cyo 


do. of Hopewell, 


14 


4 


18 


33 


1,126 


do. of Charleston Un., # 


12 




12 


4 


397 


do. of Georgia, 


7 




7 


3 


186 


do. of Bethel, 


8 


3 


11 


29 


1,656 




67 


~12~ 


~~79~ 


96 


5,974 



* No report this year. 



1828. 





Ministers. 








Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmon)^ 
do. of South Carolina, 
do. of Hopewell, 
do. of Charleston Un., 
do. of Georgia, 
do. of Bethel,* 


12 
12 
15 
11 

9 
8 


2 
4 
1 

1 


12 
14 
19 
12 

9 
9 


21 
35 
31 
4 
6 
16 


1,002 
1,933 
1,433 
626 
239 
1,521 




67 




75 


113 


6,754 



* Bethel was detached from the Synod of North Carolina, and united with the 
Synod of South Carolina and Georgia in 1828. 



1829. 



; 


Ministers. 








Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 






17 


21 


1,185 


do. of South Carolina, 


11 


3 


14 


32 


2,208 


do. of Hopewell, 


20 


4 


24 


46 


2.020 


do. of Charleston Union, 


12 


1 


13 


5 


669 


do. of Georgia, 


8 




8 


7 


747* 


do. of Bethel, 


7 


1 


8 


17 


1,751 




73 


11 


~~84~ 


128 


8,580 



* This number includes the Midway Congregational church in Georgia, con- 
taining 550 communicants. 



43 



1S30. 





Minister 










Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


13 


~2~~ 


15 


24 


1,838 


U.U. Ul 10UU.L1I Ulllld., 


11 


3 








do. of Hopewell, 


23 


4 


27 


51 


2,263 


do. of Charleston Union, 


11 


1 


12 


5 


701 


do. of Georgia, 


8 




8 


4 


771* 


do. of Bethel, 


9 


1 


10 


19 


1,719 




75 




86 


132 


9,737 



* This number includes the Midway Congregational church in Georgia, con- 
taining 550 communicants. 



1831. 





Ministers. 








Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


~~17~ 




17 


23 


1,836 


do. of South Carolina, 


13 


2 


15 


29 


2,480 


do. of Hopewell, 


27 


2 


29 


51 


2,625 


do. of Charleston Un., 


11 


1 


12 


5 


433 


do. of Georgia, 


8 




8 


5 


268 


do. of Bethel, 


9 


1 


10 


19 


1,779 




85 


6 


91 


132 


9,421 



1832. 





Ministers. 








Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


18 




18 


25 


2,020 


do. of South Carolina, 


13 


1 


14 


29 


2,567 


do. of Hopewell, 


29 


2 


31 


54 


2,816 


do. of Charleston Un., 


15 


2 


17 


5 


827 


do. of Georgia,* 


8 




8 


5 


268 


do. of Bethel, 


8 


1 


9 


19 


1,781 




91 


6 


97 


137 


10,279 



* No report this year. 



44 
1833. 





Ministers. 








Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chks. 


C' TflTft, 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


17 


1 


18 


4, / 




do. of South Carolina, 


15 




15 


32 


2,832 


do. of Hopewell, 


26 


4 


30 


55 


2,910 


do. of Charleston Un., 


16 


7 


23 


7 


869 


do. of Georgia,* 


10 




10 


5 


268 


do. of Bethel, 


9 


1 


10 


18 


1,970 




~93~~ 




106 


144 


11,076 



* No report this year. 



1834. 





Ministers. 








Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Presbytery of Harmony, 


16 


~2~ 




25 


2,401 


do. of South Carolina, 


14 


1 


15 


35 


2,917 


do. of Hopewell, 


19 


1 


20 


35 


1,586 


do. of Charleston Un., 


19 


7 


26 


12 


936 


do. of Georgia, 


13 




13 


10 


376 


do. of Bethel, 


9 


2 


11 


19 


2,072 


do. of Good Hope, 


11 


1 


12 


25 


1,420 




101 


14 


115 


161 


11,708 



1885.* 



Presbytery of Harmony, 
do. of South Carolina, 
do. of Hopewell, 
do. of Charleston Un., 
do. of Georgia, 
do. of Bethel, 


Ministers. 


Chhs. 


Comm. 


Min. 


Lie. 


Total. 














129 1 


13,346 



* In 1800, the population of South Carolina and Georgia was 508,277. In 1835, 
the population is about 1,300,000.— In 1803, there was 1 Presbyterian minister to 
about every 15,883 of the population, and 1 Presbyterian church to about every 
8,615. In 1835, there is ] Presbyterian minister to about every 9,352, and 1 Pres- 
byterian church to about every 7,831. 



45 



TABLE 2. 



Showing the increase or diminution in the number of Presbyterian 
ministers in South Carolina and Georgia, in each successive year, 
from 1803 to 1835. The sign — signifies diminution ; -j- increase. 



1803 

No.Min.3~ 


1801 
— 1 


1805 
—2 


1806 
+0 


1807 
+0 


1808 
+0 


1809 
+0 


1810 
+0 


1811 

+0 


1812 
+0 


1813 
+0 


1814 

+5 


1815 


1816 

+2 


1817 


1818 
+2 


1819 

+3 


1820 
+5 


1821 
+* 


1822 
+5 


1823 
+6 


1824 
+6 


1825 


1826 
o 


1827 
+3 


1828 
—4 


1829 
+9 


1S30 


1831 

+ 5 


1832 
+6 


1833 
+9 


1834 
+0 


1835 
+ 14' 







TABLE 3. 



Showing the increase in the number of church members in each 
year, from 1826 to 1834. 



Increase 


in 


1826, 


888 


Increase 


in 


1831. 


234 


do. 


in 


1827, 


313 


do. 


in 


1832; 


858 


do. 


in 


1828, 


780 


do. 


in 


1833, 


749 


do. 


in 


1829, 


1.285 


do 


in 


1834, 


632 


do. 


in 


1830, 


1,157 











46 



TABLE 4. 

Showing 1 the number of ministers without charge, and those em- 
ployed as stated supplies; also the number in respect to whom 
the pastoral relation has been fully constituted ; the number of 
churches supplied with the preached word, and the number of 
vacant churches ; also the additions to the church, and the whole 
number of members for the year 1834, and the estimated number 
in 1835. 

South Carolina. 





j Licentiates 


Without 
Charge. 


Stated Supply. 


j Pastors. 

| Vacant 
Churches. 


Church es 
Supplied. 


^1 


l-i 


Whole Number 
j Added. 


§i 

li 

Ik 


Pres. of Harmony, 


2 


3 


2 


9* 


7 


18 


78 


23 


101 i 2,401 


do. South Carolina, 


1 


3 


6 


5 


9 


26 


308 


29 


337 


2,917 


do. Charleston Un., 


7 


3 


1 


8t 




12 


14 


3 


17 


936 


do. of Bethel, 


2 


2 


4 


4 


7 


12 


146 


36 


182 


2,072 


Total in S.Carolina, 


12 


11 


13 


26 


23 


68 


546 


91 


I 637 


8.326 



Georgia. 



Presbytery of Hopewell, 
do. of Georgia, 
do. of Fall Ri^er, 


| Licentiates. | 


Without Charge | 


1 
I 


Pastors. j 


| Vacant Chhs. 


Churches 
Supplied. 


Added on 1 
Examination. \ 


'5 


Whole Number 
Added. 


Whole Number 
Member a. 


1 
1 


6 
4 
2 


7 
6 
7 


5t 
3 
2 


2 

5 


27 
8 
17 


91 

36 
46 


13 

55 


91 
49 
101 


1.586 
376 
1,420 


Total in Georgia, 


2 
14 


L2 

23 


20 
33 


10 

36 


18 
41 


52 
120 


173 
719 


68 


241 


3,382 


Total in Ga. & S. Carolina, 


159 


878 


11.708 



From 19 churches there has been no report. Estimated No., 760 
Estimated increase in 1835, ....... 878 



Whole number of church members in 1835, . . 13,346 
Besides these, there are at least 2,000 members in Congregational 
churches, under the care of ministers connected with the Synod : 
making the whole number in 1835, according to our estimate, 15,346. 



* Also 2 professors in the seminary. 

| And I professor, 1 editor, 1 agent, 4 missionaries. 

J 1 President of college. 



QUERIES AND SUGGESTIONS. 



1. Every church requires the labors of a pastor. Should not 
every particular church, then, have one of her sons in training 
for the holy ministry ? If she takes one man from the church at 
large, as her spiritual guide, should she not put one of her sons into 
the field to supply his place ? 

2. Should not every church, having a number of youth within 
her bosom, who have natural qualifications, which, if improved, 
would fit them for the ministry, furnish all she can for this sacred 
office ? Should not our vacant pulpits be filled ? Should we not 
pour a constant flood of spiritual instruction over the wide plains 
lying south and west of us, and send out our sons thither to preach 
Christ i Assimilated as we are in climate to the great body of the 
heathen world, have we not a solemn and important work to 
perform in sending the gospel to them ? 

3. Perhaps you are a minister, or an elder in the church ? Have 
you ever interested yourself to lead ingenuous, prudent, and de- 
voted young men to reflect on the duty of consecrating their lives 
to personal efforts for the salvation of souls ? Can you recollect 
any golden opportunities of putting a sanctified, well-balanced mind 
into operation, with the sole object of doing good ; opportunities 
which you have suffered to pass by unimproved ? 

Will you not now look around you, and see if there are not 
young men within the circle of your influence, who would be an 
acquisition to the effective force of the ministry, if they were edu- 
cated for it? Will you not pray the Lord of the harvest to send 
them forth into his harvest ? 

4. Perhaps you have a son, a brother, or some other relative, or 
some friend, who is a humble, sincere, devoted Christian; and who 
is possessed of prudence, talents, and education to do good in the 
ministry. Do you not stand in such relation to that young man, 



48 



that you can suggest to him the inquiry whether he should not be 

a minister of the gospel ? 

5. There may be a young man of your acquaintance who wishes 
to labor in the ministry, and who you believe ought to be encour- 
aged to do so. Will you not put him in the way of gratifying the 
desire of his heart ? 

6. There are some young men who would be glad of the op- 
portunity of doing good which the ministry affords, and who have 
the proper talents and character : but they are distrustful of them- 
selves, diffident and retiring. Such persons are the very men to do 
good. They need encouragement and counsel. And these you 
can afford them without cost. 

7. You yourself may be the very young man who ought to be a 
minister. You are completing your education, are a child of God, 
a son of the church. You are about deciding on your course for life, 



Will you now listen to the call of ambition, to the call of the 
god of this world — or to the call of Christ and of dyinp; men ? 

Or, you have not obtained the light of knowledge, and yet 
would be happy in exercising the office in which Paul labored. 
Rush not impetuously to the field of battle. Hasten slowly. Are 
you "apt to teach?" Have you " given yourself to reading?'' 
Remember that the church cannot flourish under an ignorant 
ministry. That the Apostles were miraculously enlightened and 
endued with gifts. That God never intended that men who have 
never learned should set themselves up as teachers of others. That 
Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards, 
and those men whose memories have been most revered in the 
church have been men of cultivated minds. That if you enter the 
ministry to teach, you should be above the level of society in knowl- 
edge. Otherwise you will degrade the office you assume, and will 
make it contemptible in the eyes of men. " Let no man despise 
thy youth." Enter upon an ample course of study, and unless too 
far advanced in life, pursue it to its utmost end before you ask your 
Presbytery to authorize you to preach the gospel. 

If you wish for information and counsel on the subject, consult 
your minister, or address the Rev. Samuel S. Davis, of Augusta, 
Ga. who is deeply interested in the cause of education ; or apply 
to some member of the committees appointed in each presbytery to 
examine young men who are seeking charitable aid for the pur- 
pose of obtaining an education for the ministry. 



M The world before you where to choose your place of rest 
And Providence your guide." 







o 4 1> • 





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